Packing material and method of making same



March 17, 1931. KOPPELMA'N 1,796,794

PACKING MATERIAL AND METHOD O MAKING SAME Filed July '5, 1928 T1 E: '7 T 1 E1: 5 W

T 1 g: "avwamboz 7%.), PM 3331* abhor/mm;

Patented Mar. 1 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MORRIS KOPIPELMAN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'I'O OLED-TITE PACKING CORPORATION, A CORPOBATIUN OF NEW YORK PACKING KATEBIAL AND METHUD 01F MAKING- Application filed July 5, was.

The invention relates to packing material for fragile articles such as fruit, eggs, incandescent bulbs or other objects made of glass or other brittle material and is particularly adapted for packing glass or ceramic articles where such articles are adapted to be placed in stacks or piles in nested relation. The improvements have for their object, among others, the production of a novel 10 article of manufacture of highly eflicient form in such a manner and of such materials that the strength, durability, cushioning effect and usefulness of the packing is increased and the cost of production decreased. A further object is to provide a novel process, entailing a small number of operations, for making the packing material, which is inexpensive and capable of practice on an extensive scale. 7

In practicing the present improvements projections or bulged areas are formed in a sheet, preferably of non-metallic material, simultaneously with the formation of the sheet. The formation of the sheets and the projecting portions although preferably accomplished by one and the same rocess, may be practised by first forming a at sheet and subsequently forming the projections as will more fully hereinafter appear. Any other suitable method may be employed for producing a sheet of this character which will create deformed portions in the strips or fillets into which said sheets are subsequently out.

In formin the sheet and projecting portions thereo previous to shredding same, wood pulp, cellulose or other fibrous material is einployed, the fibrous being first placed in a liquid bath. Macerated paper, throughly disintegrated and mixed with water until it has the consistency of thick soup may be employed, as may other similar materials. The formation of the sheets may then be accomplished by molding or felting by means of suitable dies or molds, whereby a sheet of relatively yieldable material results, with the aforementioned projections therein, all consisting of intimately matted fibres. If desired, and particularly Where the nature of the fibre employed renders it advisable, a

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hardening substance such as Portland cement may be added to the bath in quantity suficient to secure the desired result, but this is not necessary or essential. The foregoing havmg been accomplished the sheets are then to! cut or shredded into narrow strips which are of sinuous form and may be used individually or collectively for packing as will be later described.

The advantages of the present improveto ments will be further set forth in connection with the accompanying description of the invention and drawings in which Fig. l is a plan view of a fragment of a shfiet' from which the packing material is cu 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1;

. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showmg a modified form of sheet;

F g. 42 is'a section on line 4l-t of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view of articles packed with the present improvements;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of one of the fillets shredded from the sheet;

7 is a plan view of a sheet after being shre ded. Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the sheets illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 represent one stage in the manufacture of the packing material. In order that a clear understanding of the improvements may be had, the formation of these sheets will be described. Forms for shaping the sheets are made of line wire mesh or foraminous sheet metal, said forms being provided with corrugations for producing a sheet as illustrated in Fig. 1 or bulged areas for producing the sheet shown in Fig. 3. The forms are mounted for immersion in a tank or tub containing a liquid composed of water and loose fibres, preferably cellulose or other suitable vegetable fibre suspended therein so as to give the bath the consistency of a thick soup. The forms may be mounted on a drum or other means for dipping same in the bath and are provided with suitably positioned suction pipes so that as the forms pass through the bath, the water will be drawn through the foraminous forms,

and said forms will receive, on the side therej of op osite the pipes, a coating of fibres or pulp depending for its thickness on the thickness of the bath or soup, the length of time the form is in the bath and. the degree of suction. Other suction pipes may be located above the bath and particularly opposite the compression dies, to draw air through the layer of fibrous material on the forms and the sheet dry in that remove excess water and also to hold the same tightly against the forms.

Assuming that the form used in the process so far described, has transverse projections representing corrugations, it is apparent that the form will have deposited on the exterior thereof the loose floating fibrous material so that a sheet or coating conforming to the said form, and as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 21, is applied thereto. The form with the sheet thereon is then withdrawn from the bath, subjected to the pressure of a former so that will have a comparatively smooth surface and be fairly compact, whence the sheet is removed from the form by suitable means, such as compressed air, pro ected against the underside of the form and through it against the underside of the formed sheet. As the sheet is still in a wet condition it is passed through any suitable type of drier. Obviously a sheet of the character illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 may be formed in a similar manner by employlng an appropriate foraminous form.

. If desired, the sheets may be formed flat in the bath, that is, a. plane foramlnous form without protruding portions may be employed, whereby a substantially even sheet is produced on the form. The bulged areas, after the fashion of Fig. then be pressed into the sheet while wet. by means of suitable dies and then permltted to state. Either of the processes so far described may be practiced in producing the non-planiform sheet illustrated in the drawings.

I The above described method of preparing sheets is of vital importance in the present. improvements.

The loose fibres floating 1n the bath through which the forms are passed are relatively short and obviously infinite in 50 number. Upon being sucked against the form, these short fibres become felted or matted together in over-lapp1ng, 1nter -engaging and superposed relation with slight regard for organized arrangement. If an enlarged cross section of such a sheet could be viewed, an infinite number of these short fibres would be seen felted together with an infinite number of minute spaces between the fibres. Where the bulged areas or projections'are produced initially in the sheet by the configuration of the form itself, the sheet is caused to be dried with the fibres in the aforementioned matted relation with the minute spaces therebetween. However, where the sheet is initially made flat, the

masses bulged areas or projections are afterward formed in the sheet while wet and then permitted to dry in that form with the fibres similarly ,matted ,and with minute spaces therebetween, as is apparent.

By reason of the above described texture of the sheet, the dried fibres will from a relatively rigid sheet but at the same time will give to the sheet an inherent elasticity. Therefore this method of making the sheet insures proper and accurate form when dry and the preservation of that form in use since any pressure on the sheet or any part thereof will tend to move its fibres from their normal position and will be constantly resisted thereby, to the end that all the parts of the sheet will always have a tendency to return to their original position, which causes them to exert a counter pressure when slightly pressed or drawn therefrom. As will be later seen, these characteristics are also present in the packing material. Although only two types of sheets have been shown and described, it is apparent that they may be made in a plurality of shapes. v

A fragment of a sheet 10-, made in accordance with the foregoingprocess is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 with corrugations 11 formed in the sheet. By the same process the sheet 12 illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, is produced, having the bulged areas or domes 13 formed therein. In both these embodiments, it is evident that the number of portions protrudlng from the normal plane of the sheet may be varied as desired.

The final stage in the production of the 1 or g 3, may packing material consists in slicing or shredding the sheets thus formed into a plurality of fillets or strips. This is accomplished by passing the sheets through rotating rollers having spaced cutting blades thereon. However, it rs apparent that the number of sheets Which may be cut at one time is limited and therefore a greater number of fillets may be produced by stacking the sheets in nested relatlon and cutting the stack with a guillotine. The result of this operation is shown 1n plan view in Fig. 7 where sheets similar to that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 are shown after being cut. A plurality of fillets 14 are thus formed and they will be of sinuous or undulating form similar to the cross section of the sheet (see Fig. 2). By cutting the sheets shown in Fig. 3, in a similar manner, a plurality of sinuous or undulating fillets are also produced, some of which will have a form similar to the cross sectional view (Fig. 4) thereof. It is apparent that the strips cut from sheet 12 will be of varying contour, due to the manner of forming the bulged areas, but no matter how the sheet 12 is out, the resulting strips will have deformed portions therein. In producingstrips 14 from sheet 10, the cuts should be made transversely of the corrugations. as illustrated in Fig. 7, so that deformed portions are present in each strip.

The strips may be sliced or shredded in any width varying from one sixteenth of an inch or smaller, to one inch and larger depending upon the type of packing desired in View of the articles to be packed. A single shredded strip or fillet 16, cut from sheet 12 is shown in enlarged elevation in Fig. 6, with the deformed portions 17 therein. When in this form the fibres of the strip are in normal position, as is also the case with strips of the shape shown in Fig. 2. As described with respect to the sheets, these strips possess inherent elasticity due to the felting of the fibres and the minute spaces therebetween. By reason of this texture. the strips tend to retain their normal shape and resist stresses and strains tending to expand or contract them. Thus if the strips are gripped at the ends and pulled, they will resiliently expand, and the fibres will be drawn out of their normal position, but when the grip is released, the fibres will return to normal position causing the entire strip to spring back to its deformed or sinuous shape. A snnilar characteristic is inherent in the strip whe'ther it be compressed and crumpled longitudinally or pressed transversely, and accordmgly the strip and .the fibres thereof, tend to retain normal position regardless of the direction of pressure experienced.

Une application of the improved packing material is illustrated in Fig. 5 where two of a stack of glass electric light shades are shown in nested relation with fillets shredded from non-planiform sheets between same. Two or an infinite number of these fillets placed between fragile articles affords a highly effective cushioning effect. As aforementioned, the present improvements have a plurallty of applications and serve as an effective cushion or packing means by reason of their relatively yieldable and elastic character.

Uther packing of this general type may be known, but such packing depends rather upon quantlty for its efficacy than upon the texture of the material. The tendency of the shredded fillets of the present improvements to return to their normal shape, due to the fact that the fibres of which they are composed, have been brought together and permitted to set and dry in normal positions, is of distinct advantage from an economic standpoint since only half as much packing is necessary, in comparison to other known forms. Furthermore, since pressure exerted by the packed articles will tend to move the matted fibres of the fillets from their normal position into a more intimate union and will be constantly resisted thereby, a better cushion efiect is secured. Articles packed in stacks, as seen in Fig. 5, also occupy substantially half as much space as those stacked and packed with other known packing. This is due to the fact that less shreds are necessary and also the inherent compressibility thereof. A great saving in time and labor is also apparent in the use of this packing which is extremely light in weight and therefore has little or no effect in transportation charges. It is to be noted that none of the essentials of an efficient packing material have been sacrificed in attaining the foregoing advantages, but rather all such essentials have been retained and other features of advantage added.

if desired, the packing may be waterproofcd or otherwise treated to increase resistance to moisture and pressure.

The fillets cut on the line 88 of Fig. 8 will have irregular curves, and will have the lateral pitch or slope of the domes shown in Fig. 3, as will all fillets cut from the sheet 172 except those on the line 4'.t of Fig. 3, and this gives them elasticity and a tendency to bend instead of to break under strains in all directions. it will be understood further that the protuberances of the sheets may be variously formed to give the fillets greater flexibility or to make them more serviceable for various purposes.

The packing herein described is useful for a wide range of purposes, and in addition to its usefulness as a packing for fragile ar ticles may be used for matresses, cushions, pads and other similar or dissimilar purposes. ls also provides an excellent non- ,conductor of heat.

Various modifications within the scope of the present improvements will occur to those familiar with the art. For example, the domes 13 in the sheet 12 in 3 may be spaced further apart if desired, or flat surfaced sheets may be formed, without projections, and shredded, or any other type of non-planiform fiat may be made Without departing from the invention.

ll claim:

1. Packing of the character described comprising strips shredded from a non-planiform sheet of unfinished pulp material consisting of intimately matted fibres, said shredded strips being normally non-planiform and adapted to resist movement from said normal shape.

2. Packing of the character described comprising fillets cut from a non-planiform sheet of unfinished pulp material.

3. Packing of the character described comprising strips cut from a non-planiform sheet of unfinished pulp material consisting of felted fibres, said strips being inherently elastic and normally of undulating configuration.

l. The method of making elastic packing for fragile articles which comprises formwhich consists in taking a form of ing a sheet of unfinished pulp material by loosel matting wet pulp fibres on a nonplani orm die, drying said sheet and shredding same into fillets.

5. The method of making elastic packing for fragile articles which comprises forming a corrugated sheet ofunfinished ulp material by loosely felting wet pulp fibres, drying said sheet and cutting same into strips transversely of said corrugations.

6. The method of making elastic acking for fragile articles which comprises orming a relatively smooth surfaced sheet of unfinished pulp material by loosely matting wet pulp fibres, pressing bulged areas in said sheet While Wet, drying said sheet and cutting same into fillets.

7. lhe method of making elastic packing oraminous material having portions projecting therefrom, producing suction on one side thereof, immersing it in a liquid having fibrous material in finely divided state therein, causing the liquid to be drawn by suction through the foraminous form and to deposit the fibrous material thereon to form avcontinuous sheet corresponding in shape to the exterior of said form, removing the form and sheet thereon from the liquid, drying the sheet and removing same from the form, and cutting the sheet into strips.

Witness my hand this 29th day of June,

I 1928, county of New York, State of New York.

MORRIS KOPPELMAN. 

